I'm a Believer!!

This past Friday, I participated in my first ever Black Friday experience. I never had the desire to get up before dawn to stand outside in the freezing cold just to save a few bucks. I'm a bargain shopper, but I also love my sleep! Thanksgiving evening I begin to look through the ads, and my interest peaked. I saw several items at Target that I knew my boys would love, and I was seriously debating going early the next morning. On one shoulder, I had my friend Samantha saying "Go, it's the greatest." On the other shoulder, I had my husband and Aldo saying, "Black Friday is for freaks!" I listened to Samantha...and I'm glad.

I arrived at Target at 5:45 am on Friday and there were already 200 people waiting in line. I decided I'd just wait in my nice warm car until the store opened at 6. At exactly 6am, I walked out of my car and into Target. There was a mob of people, but most went straight for the electronics section. I headed to the toys and got exactly what I came for. Within 15 minutes I was walking out of Target with talking letter magnets and a remote control helicopter for Parker, a Sesame Street garage and car set for Kent, 5 DVD's that were priced at $3.98, a shark vacuum cleaner for $10, and set of 24 cantainers of play-dough. I didn't even use a cart!

By 6:20 am I was at Kohl's. I knew they had a sale going on, and I also had a 15% off coupon to use. I went in there originally to buy Erik some undershirts and socks. On my way to the men's department a Bissell Carpet Deep Cleaner caught my eye. Erik and I have been wanting to invest in one of these for at least a year, but at over $200, we never could justify the purchase. I looked down and saw that there was one more cleaner left, and the price was $95.99. I snatched it immediately and went directly to the end of the line. The box was so heavy, and there were no more available carts, so I didn't want to lug the thing around to the men's department and back to the register. I waited in line for over an hour. When I finally got to the register, the Bissell rang up at $210. Of course, I objected and politely excused myself to go back to the place where I got the cleaner and I double checked the price...it still said $95.99 on the shelf. I told the cashier, and then I asked for a manager. The manager told me that the item was misplaced on the wrong shelf. I calmly expressed to the manager that it was up to the store to be sure that all items are in the correct place. I told him that I had waited in line for over an hour only because I thought the carpet cleaner was on sale. I waited for his response.

"Okay" he replied. "I'll give it to you for the price on the shelf."

I was overjoyed!! Then after the manager left, the cashier informed me that he would give me an additional 20% off because he felt bad about how long this entire transaction took. I also asked if I could use my 15% off coupon that I had, and he allowed me to do that as well. I payed a grand total of $65 for a $210 Bissell carpet cleaner.

I was home by 7:30 am, and after I got Erik and the boys ready, I went back to Kohl's because I could still use my 15% off coupon for the whole day. I bought my mom Onieda dishes that were orginally $119, but were on sale for $35.99 until 10am that day. My total for those dishes was $32.

I am a believer. I will be going out at the crack of dawn next Black Friday. I think I've made a believer out of Erik too! Thanks Sam, for your inspiration.